Lazarenko and two bodyguards suffered slight injuries in the blast, which occurred as the prime minister was heading to the coal-mining Donetsk region to hear a report by government investigators into embezzlement of state funds meant for miners’ wages. The scandal has set off a wave of strikes.

Vasyl Durdinets, Lazarenko’s first deputy, said the attack was intended to thwart the investigation.

After a delay caused by the bombing - the first attempt on the life of a high-ranking official in post-Soviet Ukraine - Lazarenko flew to Donetsk to hear the report by investigators.